SpartanNash has partnered with Afresh Technologies to pilot the Afresh platform, an artificial intelligence-powered predictive ordering and inventory management solution, at 10 of its own Family Fare grocery stores in the Grand Rapids, Mich., area.
“Our partnership with Afresh will help SpartanNash deliver fresh produce to our store guests while also minimizing food waste, which is a key focus area for our company’s [environmental, social and governance] efforts,” SpartanNash Chief Merchandising Officer Bennett Morgan said in a news release. “Leveraging the strength of artificial intelligence and digital workflow will provide our associates with insights to create solutions that benefit our corporate retail store guests.”
Afresh equips SpartanNash’s fresh department managers with easy-to-use, modern ordering tools — powered by real-time insights — to support fresh ordering decisions. The platform’s insights build upon the expertise of SpartanNash associates to create the best possible shopper experience and making fresh food accessible to all. The tool helps minimize food waste by ensuring the appropriate inventory levels are maintained and always fresh based on insights from guests’ shopping habits.
“Afresh is proud to partner with the SpartanNash team to help better manage the ever-changing nature of fresh,” Afresh CEO Matt Schwartz said in the release.
This solution is built for fresh produce specifically, to navigate hard-to-predict data that makes fresh departments so complex, he said.
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As a distributor, wholesaler and retailer with a global supply chain network, SpartanNash customers span a diverse group of national accounts, independent and chain grocers, e-commerce retailers, U.S. military commissaries and exchanges, and the company's own brick-and-mortar grocery stores, pharmacies and fuel centers. SpartanNash distributes grocery and household goods, including fresh produce and its Our Family portfolio of products, to locations in all 50 states, in addition to distributing to the District of Columbia, Europe, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Djibouti, Korea and Japan.
To support its distribution business, the company operates a network of large-scale distribution facilities and a nationwide transportation fleet. Also, SpartanNash owns and operates 147 supermarkets, primarily under the banners of Family Fare, Martin's Super Markets and D&W Fresh Market. The company shares its operational insights to drive solutions for SpartanNash food retail customers.
“The more time our associates save in the forecasting and ordering process, the more time they can spend on the floor serving our store guests,” Tom Swanson, SpartanNash executive vice president and general manager of corporate retail, said in the release.
Afresh was founded in 2017 with the mission to eliminate food waste and make fresh food more accessible, serving national and regional grocery brands nationwide. Afresh has partnerships with grocers in more than 3,000 stores and 40 states, including Albertsons, Heinen's, Save Mart, Bashas and Cub Foods.